Apostolic Visitor to Poland - The Rabbi of Galicia Welcomes the Papal Legate - Monsignor Ratti Is Promoted Papal Nuncio - Delicate Diplomacy - Travels in Lithuania and Latvia - Pontifical Commissioner of Silesia - The Bolshevik Invasion - The Papal Nuncio Is Rewarded with the Red Hat - Retreat and Pilgrimage
While Monsignor Ratti was librarian of the Ambrosiana in Milan he reviewed a book describing a diplomatic mission of Monsignor Garampi, Papal Nuncio under Clement IV to the Augsburg Peace Conference, called into being in 1761 to wrestle with the problems that had arisen out of the Seven Years War. This review can be found in the files of the old library in the Archivio Storico Lombardo; and it contains a perfect picture of an ideal diplomat of the Holy See. In the light of Monsignor Ratti’s mission to Poland and the manner in which he discharged his perplexing and varied duties, it will be seen how the Apostolic Visitor had made the qualities he praises in Garampi his very own. He writes enthusiastically:
A keen and versatile genius, open to any light from wheresoever it might emanate, ever eager to familiarize himself with a situation, despite the ceaseless call of duty . . . His will power was as unfailing as his marvelous acumen. It was characterized by a conscientious sense of duty . . . despite its attendant trials … a priestly life of the most exemplary nature, sterling integrity coupled with consummate sagacity, flawless tact, a patient and conciliatory spirit; in short, as one of his friends put it, “He was the perfect model of those ancient apostolic legates whose endeavors have redounded to the honor and well-being of the Church.”
Stopping only to visit his old mother in Milan and as it proved to bid her a last farewell, Ratti went by way of Munich and Vienna to Berlin. He had left Rome on 19 May 1918, the Day of the Feast of Pentecost. On the 30th, the Feast of Corpus Christi, he reached Warsaw. The Poles were profoundly moved as he passed in procession through the streets, clasping the Monstrance. They felt their resurgence as a nation was being blessed at its inception and their freedom was sanctified and more secure, beset though they were with all kinds of struggles and fears for the future. For, while Russian Poland was restored to its rightful status, Germany and Austria had not yet relinquished their domination in the two provinces of Poland they had held since the partition was sanctioned in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna.
“We can recommend him as a man whose piety, zeal for religion, experience, and knowledge are known to all,” Benedict had written to the Polish bishops. And here he was in their very midst! And he had brought with him many tangible evidences of His Holiness’ generosity, boxes for Italian prisoners containing comforts from home had been distributed in Germany en route. Immediately upon arrival in Warsaw he handed over to the archbishop the alms sent by the Pope to the poor of Poland.
Ratti’s secretary reached him in Warsaw early in June, Don Ermenegildo Pellegrinetti, a former history professor of the Seminary of Lucca, who had been employed in the censorship office in Rome during the War, taking care of the interned men of Slavonic origin. Monsignor Ratti and his secretary made their headquarters in the rectory of Saint Alexander’s Church. This was their station during their entire stay in the city as guests of the pastor Monsignor Eusebius Brzeziewicz, who was known for his culture and piety.
Many visits were exchanged during the first days in Warsaw. These, Ratti felt, were helpful and important for an understanding of the situations that were to confront him. As in Milan and Rome, his dignified affability and sympathetic tact won the confidence and regard of all. His natural warm understanding and readiness to learn were dignified by the consciousness that he was the Holy Father’s delegate. He was soon recognized by his distinguished guests as a worthy representative of the Holy See.
By the middle of July Monsignor Ratti terminated his temporary stay in Warsaw and began his extended travels through Poland with a pilgrimage to Hasna Gora. For centuries from every nook and corner of Poland vast throngs had been accustomed to assemble at this celebrated shrine to pray to the Madonna of Czenstochowa; but since the War the shrine had been neglected. Only a few of the Faithful were kneeling before the Madonna when the Monsignor arrived at the Convent of the Pauline Fathers, the guardians of the shrine. After saying Mass, the Visitor entered the convent, welcomed by the Prior and mingling with the friars, conversing with them about their mode of life. Climbing up to the top of the lofty campanile, their distinguished guest looked out from the tower which at night is a beacon light to the Polish nation.
Continuing his journeys, the Visitor went on to Kielce from Czenstochowa. Here Bishop Augustin Losinski was host to him at a dinner attended by seventy priests. Replying to the Rector’s happy phrase, Iam hiems transiit, imber abiit et recessit, flores apparuerunt in terra nostra, (Now winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth) Monsignor Ratti gave expression to a felicitous augury of a smiling and fruitful springtime for the Church and for the Polish nation. During his two-day stay in Kielce, Ratti visited some Italian prisoners in the neighborhood and left a goodly donation with them. On the 10th he returned to Warsaw.
When the train pulled in at the Ostrowiec station a throng of people met him with banners, and all the way from the station to Wlostow, where he was to be the guest of Michael Karski, the crowds knelt along the roadside. “Now I know what the Pope is in the world. I am only a humble librarian and look at all these crowds kneeling before me because they see the shadow of the Pope behind me!” the Papal Visitor said to his secretary as he wiped his wet eyes.
According to an old Polish tradition, his host Karski organized a homagium – at which all citizens of importance come to pay their homage to an exalted guest.
On the 8th of September he left to visit the town of Sandominerz, accompanied by troops of peasants on horseback in gay costumes. Here he was met by a delegation bearing bread and salt in traditional fashion. The Bishop Marianus Ryx received him cordially at the Cathedral. Then a great reception was held at the episcopal residence. Everyone of importance was there, including a number of prominent Jews. In a speech, the chief Rabbi of Galicia mentioned that the day was, according to the Jewish calendar, the anniversary of the creation of the world. Monsignor Ratti tactfully replied that it was also a great day in the Christian calendar, the birthday of Mary, who, as a descendant of King David, was one of the glories of the Hebrew race. The rabbi was deeply moved and asked, in the name of the Jewish colony, for the prayers of the Monsignor and for those of the Holy Father.
Here, as in every city he visited, Monsignor Ratti investigated ecclesiastical matters, the condition of the churches, the libraries, and the antiquarian and historical associations. Nothing escaped his penetrating mind and understanding heart.
Ratti’s next journey was into Galicia, still under the authority of Austria-Hungary, and hence unofficial in character. Nonetheless in Cracow as the guest of Monsignor Sapieha he spent three very profitable and pleasant days with his charming host, visiting the monuments of the city and perusing the bibliographical treasures.
At Chelm he visited the ground of the old bitter conflict between Uniates who were loyal to the Roman Church and the Russian Orthodox adherents. Passing through Deblin en route to Warsaw, he stopped to say Mass in an Orthodox chapel of the dismantled fortress of Ivangorod, for the garrison stationed there.
For six months Ratti was continuously traveling from place to place, acclaimed by vast crowds of the people, and guest of the distinguished men of the cities.
Because his mission was purely religious in its character, the Apostolic Visitor did not come into close contact with the civil authorities; but on those occasions when contact was unavoidable, there was no attempt to interfere with his work. He was given perfect freedom to send his telegrams in his own cipher in sealed envelopes unopened by the censor. He was permitted to move about freely at a time when that privilege was not granted to anyone else without special permit. Although he had written to the Governor, Prince Leopold, for permission to visit the Ober-Ost region which included the districts of Vilna, Riga and Kovno, he was warned that the time was not propitious. Only two months later he was urged to visit this same territory; but conditions did not permit him to accept the invitation and it was a year and a half before he finally went there and then under very different circumstances.
Although Benedict had not foreseen that Rattis mission would extend to more than a few months, rapidly moving events and tremendous changes in Poland made an extended stay desirable. With the collapse of the Western front, the Germans began to evacuate the territory of Russian Poland. On November 14, 1918, Pilsudski established the provisional government. The next month Posnania was also freed from the German hegemony. On the eve of the New Year, Paderewski came to Warsaw, and in collaboration with Pilsudski, achieved a moderate coalition government. The Sejm, or constituent assembly, elected Pilsudski President of the Polish Republic in February. Minsk and Vilna fell into the hands of the Poles, wrested from the Bolsheviki. The Ukrainians were driven across the Abrucz, after six months of hard fighting. The new Poland began to function under extreme difficulty. Untrained and inexperienced men tried to steer the ship of state. Monsignor Ratti watched every development with the keenest interest and the most anxious prayers.
In the name of the Holy Father Monsignor Ratti gave the Church’s stamp of approval and official recognition to the newly created state. It was then that the government requested that their Apostolic Visitor be made their first Nuncio. This was in March of 1919. On June igth, he handed his credentials to President Pilsudski. He was at the same time made Archbishop of Lepanto, and was consecrated to this new dignity in the Cathedral of Warsaw. Assisted by notable Monsignori and bishops, the Archbishop of Warsaw officiated at the colorful ceremony in the presence of the President of the Republic, the entire cabinet and the diplomatic corps, all the most prominent citizens and vast throngs of the people. The consecration took on the aspect of a national event.
While the Ministers of Foreign Affairs followed one another in rapid succession, Monsignor Ratti stayed on at Warsaw and was the dean of them all from the point of view of length of service. His uniform kindness and tact won their esteem and veneration, so that, when he left Warsaw, his departure was regretted with heart-felt sorrow. “I must give everyone an opportunity of pouring out all that is in his heart” was his motto as he sacrificed himself, his time and his liberty; for, “I am the first for more than a century to be here as an envoy of the Holy See; it is no more than right that I should give everybody the greatest facilities for seeing and talking with me.”
The Holy Father had playfully said to him before he left the Vatican, “You will have hard times but spend as much as you find necessary, because we are ‘poor but proud’.” This advice guided Ratti’s mode of life while at Warsaw. Personal simplicity and economy were not permitted to dictate his public appearance as worthily representing the Holy See, His routine of daily duties gives an attractive picture of intimate human interest, told by his secretary, who was closest to him.
Monsignore began his day by saying Mass at seven, or half past seven at the latest, if he had been up late the night before. Immediately after breakfast, he went to work in his office, and gave interviews until one o’clock. Between half past one and two he sat down to lunch with his staff. After this he sometimes, but not often, rested for half an hour; then work and interviews began again. Between six and eight he usually took a walk. Dinner was served at eight; then, after a short time spent in general conversation, he was once more at work for on account of his readiness to grant interviews, he almost always had writing to do from ten to twelve, or most likely till two in the morning on the days when he was sending off his reports to Rome. These he wrote entirely in his own hand; the archives of the Cardinal Secretary of State contain a mass of autographed letters from him, in a small, neat, characteristic handwriting. In addition to these other occupations he made numerous visits pertaining to his office. Always unwilling to let himself be outdone in courtesy, he acknowledged the smallest service promptly, usually with a note in which his kindness of heart always knew how to find some new pleasant phrase. He used to quote Saint Ambrose to the effect that nothing is more urgent than showing gratitude.
The Papal Nuncio’s tasks were made very trying and complex by the fact that there were three political legislations reflected in ecclesiastical circles, due to the three regimes, Russian, Prussian and Austrian, that succeeded each other in Poland. The liberty of the Church achieved through the break-up of the three empires was precarious and fraught with enormous difficulties. Certain of the liberal Catholics were clamoring for a new concordat with the government; but Monsignor Ratti, with his accustomed caution and foresight, felt strongly that a secure and stable loyalty should Erst be created by eliminating the serious contradictions the three ecclesiastical legislations had engendered, thus preparing the ground for a fresh legal status between the Church and the new state. The Holy See bade him nominate an ecclesiastical commission to negotiate with a governmental commission with the object of working out a modus operandi for adjusting the status of the Church, for untangling the snarled problems in the various dioceses, and for regulating the disposition of clerical donations. These negotiations were finally under way when the Nuncio had to leave Warsaw.
In order to meet the new religious needs of the changing times, to crystallize the enthusiasm of the Faithful who had for many years been obliged to worship surreptitiously in Russian Poland, and to protect and encourage the numerous convents in Austrian Galicia, Monsignor Ratti was nominated Apostolic Visitor of the Orders and Congregations in Poland. This responsibility kept him constantly on the move so that he was obliged to delegate Monsignor Krynicki, the Auxiliary Bishop of Wloclawek, to co-operate with him and report to him concerning his progress and his achievements.
Vilna presented peculiar difficulties, for both Lithuania and Poland claimed the province as their own. The contest between the Lithuanian state with its capital at Kovno, and the new Poland, over this apple of discord, was unyielding and bitter in the extreme. Here was a problem to test the diplomatic skill of the Papal Nuncio of Poland and the Apostolic Visitor of Lithuania, both offices compassed in the person of Monsignor Ratti. He implored the clergy of both states not to become embroiled in the political aspects of the situation and reminded them that his mission was solely a religious one. He knew that his every act was watched and would be interpreted as taking sides in the traditional racial and social animosity between the Poles and the Lithuanians. Lest his motives should be misconstrued, he conducted himself in the most neutral manner possible, even going to the length of refusing to sponsor certain policies which were commendable in themselves, but which he felt would be resented by the other side. So he appointed as Apostolic Administrator of Poland a man acceptable to the German local authorities and to the Polish bishops, Monsignor Matilewicz, a Lithuanian by birth thoroughly familiar with Polish conditions and equally at home with the Polish and Lithuanian languages. Yet this seemingly wise decision was not allowed to pass unchallenged by the nationalistic Poles, once they were rid of the German and Bolshevik elements.
Monsignor Ratti hastened to visit Vilna when in 1920 he felt the situation demanded his presence there. Traveling in Pilsudskf’s private train which the President had put at his disposal, he was met at the station by all the orders of the city and by the bishops. It was the 24th of January and bitterly cold, yet the cortege knelt in the snow before the famous Madonna of Ostrobrama and prayed aloud. For five days the Papal Nuncio remained in Vilna, visiting the lovely churches and listening patiently to many contradictory tales, all the while forming his own conclusions.
Directly from Vilna, Ratti went to Kovno, where, with the thermometer 23 degrees below zero, he spent two days, interested in the strange aspect of the city whose street signs are written- in Polish, Lithuanian and Hebrew. Conferences with the bishop and the President of the Republic gave him added knowledge of conditions. Fortified with this information, he returned to Warsaw.
The newly created republic of Latvia, carved out of what had been, under Russian domination, Lithuania, had begun negotiations with the Holy See. In the spring of 1920 the Nuncio with his mission started for Riga, the capital. The party was obliged to traverse Lithuania en route, due to a broken-down bridge at Vilna. The mishap brought the mission to Riga, after a delay of two days at Kovno. Only a third of the population of Latvia is Catholic, but the Protestants also extended a hearty welcome to the Nuncio. On the day after their arrival at Riga, Monsignor Ratti gave an address in Latin to the throng gathered in the improvised cathedral. The polyglot nature of Riga was manifest to the Nuncio when he listened to his address translated into Polish, German, Lithuanian and Latvian.
While at Riga, Ratti could not resist the call of the sea. His passion for nature in her majestic moods, familiar to him as an Alpinist, was fed by the miracle of the Baltic reflecting the azure of the sky and carrying the ice floes on its waves to the outlet of the Dvina. Beyond could be seen Courland, wooded and mysterious.
Since he had been appointed Apostolic Visitor of Russia as well as of Poland, the Nuncio made repeated attempts by means of wireless (the only means of communication between Poland and Russia in those days) to be allowed to visit Moscow and Petrograd. For some reason unknown and unexplained to him, his messages were ignored. But in spite of this restriction the Papal Nuncio was able to save the life of Monsignor de Ropp, the Metropolitan of Russia. In unmistakable terms he warned the Soviet government that Monsignor de Ropp was a subject of the Holy Father who was not at war with Russia. The old prelate was exchanged for certain Russian prisoners held in Poland. Through his intervention Ratti brought hope and life to many clerical prisoners.
The condition of affairs in Eastern Galicia was tragic. With the fall of Austria in 1918, the Ruthenians set up a political state which was called the Western Ukrainian Republic. But the Poles of the capital, Lemberg, and of the other cities were in the majority. They drove out the Ruthenians after six months of desperate struggle, completely occupying the territory. The Apostolic Visitor heard hideous tales of outrages from both sides. He was afflicted in spirit to listen to the Polish Roman Catholics and the Ruthenians of the Oriental rite charging inhumanities against each other. He wrote appealing letters to Monsignor Bilczewski of the Roman Church in Lemberg and to Monsignor Szeptycki of the Ruthenians in the same city, begging them to exert themselves to their utmost to end the scandal. Although they each acknowledged his fatherly offices, they sorrowfully answered that their intervention would be unavailing at the time. After the struggle was over, the Nuncio besought the victorious Polish authorities to mitigate their repression of their former enemies. With genuine apostolic fervor for the cause of peace and the Church, Ratti imbued many with a vision of their common Father whom he served. Yet many remained impervious to his high purpose and, blinded by partisan and nationalistic interests, misinterpreted his lofty aims.
The war between the Soviet Republic and Poland continued unabated after the futile peace negotiations had foundered in a sea of hate. The Poles advanced as far as the Dnieper River and entered Kief in triumph. This temporary success was soon lost when the Russian armies broke through the Dvina sector in the north, following up their advantage by clearing the Dnieper, after a stubbornly fought battle with a terrific loss to the Polish army of men and supplies. The Russians carried all before them as Minsk, Vilna and Grodno fell into their hands on their victorious march to Warsaw.
After a brief visit to Italy (four days in Rome, and two in Milan!) following two years of crowded experiences in the Eastern theatre, the Papal Nuncio returned to Warsaw only to be sent to Upper Silesia to undertake his new duties as Ecclesiastical High Commissioner for the Plebiscite. But when he learned the capital was threatened at its gates, he hastened back to Warsaw. Immediately he sent the archives of his Nunciature to Posen in care of Monsignor Farolfi, his new secretary, who had arrived at Warsaw. The government ministers, after forwarding their employees, money and documents of state into the western provinces, held daily conferences at the home of the Nuncio. This tribute to Monsignor Ratti was a recognition of his spiritual leadership in the hour of danger. It was agreed that the legation should leave the city and while the Nuncio made every arrangement in their behalf, he wired to the Pontiff in Rome for permission to stay and share the fate of the remaining clergy and their people when the Bolsheviks should take Warsaw.
But the Holy Father, while praising his Nuncio’s noble purpose, bade him follow the government. Yet Monsignor Ratti instructed Prince Sapieha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, that he was to be the last to leave the capital. On the 1 3th of August the Bolsheviks were only seven miles from Warsaw. A solemn Novena, begun on the 6th, the Feast of the Transfiguration, and lasting until the i5th, the Feast of the Assumption, was spent in prayer and in encouraging the defenders of the city. The diplomatic corps left for Posen on the night of the 13th. The United States Minister, Mr. Gibson, and the Italian and Danish ministers, remained in Warsaw with Monsignor Ratti. General Haller, leader of the volunteers, and General Weygand, whom Marshal Foch had sent to help the Poles hold their capital, both begged the Nuncio for his prayers. Father Skorupka, the brave military chaplain, died while rallying his battalion and prevented the advance lines from wavering. On the Day of the Feast of the Assumption a procession of a hundred thousand paraded the streets while the defenders were fighting off the attackers almost within ear shot. That night the Polish army took the offensive at Lublin and Demblin. The Bolshevik army, which had been at the very gates of the city, began a retreat all along its line. As at the Marne in the early days of the War, what began as a crushing victory, ended in the abandonment of their objective.
The delirium of joy that was felt by the Poles can scarcely be imagined. As the Nuncio had shared with them their anxieties and dangers, their deliverance brought a keen realization of how much his presence had fortified them. This recognition of his services was voiced in the eulogies of the daily press and by Witos, the President of the Council of Ministers, in a Parliamentary speech of gratitude and adulation.
In March of 1920, Monsignor Ratti had taken up the onerous task of Pontifical Commissioner in Upper Silesia as told above. Here, according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, a plebiscite was to be held which would determine whether Germany or Poland was to gain control of the great wealth of the mines in that region. The most violent propaganda by both the Polish and German elements kept the Silesian population in a constant state of turmoil. Even the clergy became involved in the nationalistic dispute, and because of Polish dissatisfaction with Cardinal Bertram of Breslau, Warsaw was insistent that Monsignor Ratti be appointed Pontifical Commissioner, believing he would defend their rights at the polls.
As Pontifical Commissioner, the Nuncio left on the eve of Easter, 1920, to canvass the territory and to familiarize himself with conditions. At the Silesian border he was met by an expert of the Interallied Commission who welcomed him in the name of the Commission. The three Commissioners who had approved his appointment met him at Oppeln. They were Colonel Percival, Englishman; General de Marinis, an Italian; and General Le Rond, a Frenchman.
Armed with all the information he could gather, Ratti set off for Rome on the gth of April, returning to Warsaw at the end of the month. On June yth, accompanied by Pellegrinetti, he arrived at Oppeln to present his credentials to the Interallied Commission. At this time he briefly stated his object to create a spirit of good will among the agitated populace. On the succeeding Sunday a letter was read in Polish and German in the parish church in which its author, Monsignor Ratti, made it clear that his concern was to protect the rights of all in a truly Christian spirit, and that the Holy Father recognized all Catholics as his children, regardless of nationality. The newspapers the next day published the Pontifical Commissioner’s letter and gave it editorial praise.
Monsignor Ratti made numerous tours of the city, held innumerable conferences and interviews, and wrote his daily reports and correspondence. He paid a second visit to the Bishopric of Breslau on the iyth of June. On the igth he went down into a coal mine to visit the Shrine of Piekar at Bytom. Since he had been appointed Ecclesiastical Commissioner for the Prussian territory of Marien-Werder and of Allenstein, he felt it imperative to visit those zones of the plebiscite region. The Italian Commisioner, General de Marinis, gave him his automobile and two Italian soldiers as chauffeurs for the tour. On the 22nd of June he reached Marien-Werder, welcomed by the Italian Commissioner, Pavia. After two days at the castle of Marienburg at Frauenberg, he went on to Allenstein. A hasty visit to Warsaw brought him back to Oppeln on the 6th of July. It was then that the news of the Bolshevik advance became so alarming that he hastened back to Warsaw, as described above.
Ratti remained in Warsaw for three months. During his absence in Warsaw, affairs in Upper Silesia became desperate. His presence was needed in both places – Warsaw and Oppeln. Rumors of discontent in Silesia began to reach Rome. Ratti was charged by the Poles with partiality towards the Germans and of being dilatory regarding his duties as Pontifical Commissioner. They even implied that he carried on a surreptitious understanding with the Germans. On the other hand, the Germans of Silesia claimed that the Poles overestimated the authority of the Commissioner, and were trying to ignore the prior authority of their Bishop, Bertram. In such a hostile atmosphere Ratti’s every effort took on the color of suspicion and ulterior motives. When Cardinal Bertram’s decree forbidding the clergy from participating in political propaganda (thus eliminating all the priests from taking part in the plebiscite) was issued, the Polish discontent became intense. Although Bertram had acted solely on his own authority, without consulting Monsignor Ratti, nevertheless the Pontifical Commisioner was the object of severe protests in the Polish press.
Those were dark days, days of loneliness of spirit and of deep sorrow, spent in silence and in prayer, the inevitable Gethsemane that every lofty spirit must pass through as a test of faith and patience. What a relief it must have been to his troubled soul to receive a message from Rome in that darkest hour of trial! His Holiness wrote expressing faith in his work and affectionate regard for his Nuncio, tremendously assuaging his wounded spirit.
Eventually the clouds lifted and the light of truth and understanding prevailed once more. Then it was seen how sincerity and single-mindedness of purpose had guided his every act with impartial rectitude toward all. The miasma of war psychology had caused the vision of interested partisans to be blinded by fear and hate. Thus through the fiery furnace of frustrated efforts, great men emerge greater, tempered to grapple with mightier problems. So it proved in the case of the Papal Nuncio of Poland, Monsignor Achille Ratti.
In March, 1921, news reached Warsaw that Benedict had appointed Monsignor Ratti to the Archbishopric of Milan, to succeed the lamented Cardinal Ferrari who from 1894 to 1921 had occupied that important See. They had been years of bitter turmoil in Milan, of social, political and religious crises; years of burdensome responsibility and unrelenting labor. The Cardinal’s prolonged physical suffering from a malignant disease, aggravated by his distress of spirit at seeing his diocese threatened with disaffection, deprived of younger clergy who might have rendered him much-needed assistance, was brought to an end by death, too long delayed to the sorely afflicted Archbishop.
There was almost unanimous approval in Milan when it was learned that the Pontiff had appointed Monsignor Ratti to succeed Cardinal Ferrari. Great enthusiasm was expressed by those who knew the former librarian of the Ambrosiana. Popolo d’Italia, the Milanese newspaper, expressed its satisfaction in terms of warm approval:
His Excellency, Monsignor Achille Ratti, possesses all those singular qualities which render his appointment to the Archbishopric satisfactory to the people of Milan. … In assigning Monsignor Ratti to the spiritual jurisdiction of the most important church in Italy, Benedict XV has undoubtedly made a happy choice; for all who know the Archbishop-elect agree he is truly worthy of the high task before him. . . . His world-wide fame as a student of history, and more particularly the experience he has gleaned in helping a new nation shape its destiny under the inspiration of the Church, even when her social and political status was at stake, will undoubtedly stand him in good stead when he sets himself to tackle the problems before him. For in Milan, more than anywhere else, the destiny of the Italian nation is being molded.
Although Monsignor Ratti had not been unaware of the rumors that were circulating about his anticipated appointment to succeed Cardinal Ferrari, when the official word came from Rome, he dictated to his faithful secretary, Pellegrinetti: “At the Pope’s command all objections must give way. Had I been asked for my opinion I should have known how to reply.” (He had intended suggesting one of his former students at the Theological Seminary for the post: Monsignor Eugene Tosi). “As it is, it now behooves me to answer that I will assume this task under his benediction.”
He had hoped to remain in Poland until July, as he earnestly desired to arrange for the pushing forward of the Concordat, intending to go on to Cracow in May to attend a conference of bishops and to bid- farewell to the Ruthenian bishops of both the Latin and Oriental Churches. But on May igth, exactly three years to a day (the Feast of Pentecost) from the time he had left Rome to undertake his unknown and unforeseen duties as Nuncio in the East, he received the call from Rome to depart at once. Three crowded and eventful years lay behind him as the government’s private train pulled out of the Warsaw station and the Papal Nuncio, escorted by his faithful host, Monsignor Eusebius Brzeziewicz, and the Cardinal-Archbishop of Warsaw, Monsignor Ladislas Kempinski, bade goodbye to his many friends of Poland years of disciplined training that seem in retrospect designed by Providence for the hard upward path he was to travel.
In a letter to his friend, the distinguished archeologist, Giacomo Boni, on the eve of his elevation, he wrote:
What shall I say concerning myself? I must say with the good Saint Martin: Non recuso laborem, albeit the task is now difficult and trying.
I will not, however, allow myself to be overawed by the episcopal appointment or the honor of the cardinalate. By means of the first, the aged Pontiff made good the desire of many loyal friends; and by means of the second, he wished to bestow his sovereign favor both upon the noble and newborn nation and upon my beloved city and church of Milan.
Despite its gravity, this Pontifical decision allows me to enjoy great peace and inspires me with great confidence, inasmuch as there was not the slightest possibility of choice or refusal on my part.
I am entrusted with an arduous task. When one is reduced to mere obedience one feels as though one had the power of two men. And this is only right, both for me and for my chief.
When Benedict bestowed the Red Hat upon Monsignor Ratti, he singled him out from the other two cardinals who were created that same day, 15 June 1921, with words of very special commendation and affectionate regard:
Turning our attention to the second of the new cardinals upon whom we have bestowed the insignia of dignity, we seem to hear a thousand voices emanating from the ranks of the students of diplomatic science. . . . Behold the alumni of the diplomatic school singing the praises of the former Prefect of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana of Milan and that of the Apostolica Vaticana of Rome. His unremitting zeal helped him intensify his studies and deepen his research into the treasures buried in ancient documents. Behold the students of diplomacy, applauding the Apostolic Nuncio of Poland where, thanks to his firm decisions, wonderful tact and composure, he was able to cement the union between Church and State during the most hazardous moments. We heartily join both sides in their praise of this diplomacy . . . the Red Hat is the highest honor we can bestow on him an honor which, we trust, will inspire him to assist the Pope in governing the Church over one of whose flocks he is to be the leader. It was to that same diocese that two wonderful souls dedicated their heroic lives San Carlo Borromeo and Cardinal Ferrari.
To those diocesans from Milan who had come to Rome to witness his consecration, the Cardinal-Archbishop addressed words of sincere affection and high endeavor:
In the name of God we will work together in order to attain those holy aspirations to ‘which my lamented predecessor, Cardinal Ferrari, dedicated his life. Monsignor Calabiana, who consecrated me to the priesthood, used to say: Ubi Petrus ibi ecclesia mediolanensis. . . . This is my program: To love you in order to requite your good wishes for my well being … to live and die among you. I thank God for being enabled to devote my life to the good of my countrymen; it is an invaluable blessing.
For a full month after his elevation to the cardinalate, the new Archbishop of Milan stayed on in Rome, writing innumerable letters to his diocesans, outlining his work. Cardinal Ratti knew how to combine intimate affection with disciplined authority and these letters all reveal that rare and happy combination so effective for the wisest leadership.
Then, on July 25th the Cardinal-Archbishop went into retreat at the Benedictine Abbey on Monte Cassino where he stayed on another month. Two other letters written at the Abbey to his pastoral charges in Milan are on record. He appeals to their good fortune in being numbered among the “Ambrosians” of whom he is proud to be one. He urges them to maintain their golden heritage unsullied. He recalls to their minds the names of Saints Ambrose and Charles, and exhorts them to follow in their sainted footsteps; especially in regard to their privilege of educating youth. In a spirit of holy pride he cites the virtues common to “Ambrosians.”
There is a feeling of ancient faith and honesty, a golden purity and simplicity, an ever-new goodness always ready to be hospitable; a certain sense of freedom and moderation wedded to a lively intelligence, dogged will power and patience for work, especially in the profession of faith and Catholic and Christian living. It is upon this source that the golden life of our fathers drew for inspiration; that peace of soul; that perfect harmony in public and private administration; the cult of fine arts; the uninterrupted progress of commerce and industry; the abundance of life’s necessities; and the inexhaustible treasures of righteousness; and the name which is famous throughout the world of Milan and the Milanese.
The Cardinal declares that his motto as their Bishop shall be the Benedictine Ora et Labora. The month spent at the Benedictine Abbey in meditation and preparation for his future duties culminated in a pilgrimage to Lourdes with a group of seven hundred pilgrims who left Rome with the Holy Father’s blessing. “I am leaving for Lourdes tomorrow with the hope of obtaining the Virgin’s blessing,” Cardinal Ratti said to a newspaper reporter on the 28th of August. Here he remained for a week, visiting the famous Grotto of the Apparition, the Basilica and the Calvary. He talked with the Bishop of Lourdes, and while maintaining that reserve characteristic of Catholic prudence, he listened and pondered over the stories of cures that were authenticated by physicians as genuine, and those not yet investigated over a period of sufficient time.
On the evening of the 5th of September he was in his birthplace of Desio. As his car entered the boundaries of outlying Milanese territory, impressed as he was by the beauty of his Lombardy with the Ligurian Apennines lifting gaunt arms to heaven, he alighted and fell on his knees, sobbing and praying.
Stopping overnight at his birthplace so full of tender memories, the next day he proceeded to Milan. The procession, according to immemorial custom, started from the sixteen-centuries-old church of Saint Eustorgius and wended its way to the great cathedral where in the beautiful piazza thirty thousand members of Catholic organizations awaited him. Their Archbishop blessed them from the massive doors of the wondrous cathedral. That afternoon he visited the poor of the city at a banquet given them by the Milanese Federation of Catholic Youth. From there he went to the Opera Cardinal Ferrari to bless the foundation stone of the Casa del Popolo.